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Coronavirus: Government orders bars to close at 7:30pm – VIDEO


The government has moved to implement piecemeal lockdown as a way of halting the spread of coronavirus.

Following strict travel and social distancing measures, the government has now ordered bars and restaurants to close earlier than usual.

Speaking on Friday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said that all entertainment joints; bars and nightclubs are to close their doors every day by 7:30pm effective Monday.

“Our actions continue to be guided by the trends that we have observed in other countries. Evidence from other countries indicate that the number of infected persons increases dramatically following confirmation of first case,” said Mr Kagwe.

The move aims to lessen the spread of Covid-19 — the disease caused by the novel coronavirus — by limiting interactions between large groups of people.

Several restaurants and bars in Nairobi have shut their doors over safety concerns following an increase in the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.

Closure of nightclubs

President Uhuru Kenyatta in a directive last Sunday asked Kenyans to avoid crowded places, including shopping malls and entertainment places.

Some county governments have also ordered the closure of nightclubs.

In the Nairobi central business district, most restaurants remain open but the number of customers remains low, as offices opt to have employees operate from home while members of the public avoid social spaces.

This has been made worse by the reduced sitting space as restaurants adhere to the one-metre spacing between customers rule.

Those still operational are opting for takeaways and home deliveries instead of in-house sales in an effort to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus.

Eateries are also partnering with delivery services, including Uber Eats, Glovo, Yum and Jumia Food, to serve consumers remotely.

For their part, the delivery firms have initiated a no-contact model where customers can leave orders at the door, the restaurants place the food directly into the delivery bag and the customers take the food out themselves. It is expected that more businesses will be shut in the coming days and weeks as more cases get reported.

Some Kenyans are also minimising expenditure as they figure out how long they can afford to live with reduced income if a lockdown is announced.

Kenya has so far confirmed seven cases of the virus, with 18 suspected ones admitted at Mbagathi Isolation Centre.

As of Friday, the World Health Organisation Situation report on Covid-19 indicated that there were 254,632 cases confirmed globally and 10,440 deaths as a result of the disease.